The Melting Pot: Junior Year
by computersaurus
Summary: A new high school in the city of Konoha brings students and faculty from all over the Land of Fire into the melting pot that is Konoha Preparatory Academy. As old friendships and rivalries are rekindled, new enemies and friends are formed , as well as romance? ShikaIno SasuSaku NejiTen NaruHina with slight KibaHina, and others!
1. Moving Day

AN: There are so many Naruto High School fics running around, I know, but this has just been stuck in my head for several months so I'm going to give it a shot. I'm planning for this to be a pretty big project!

Full summary: AU in High School: Due to the construction of a new school in the city of Konoha, students and faculty from all over the Land of Fire are stirred into the melting pot that is Konoha Preparatory Academy. As old friendships and rivalries are rekindled, new enemies and friends are formed , as well as romance? ShikaIno SasuSaku NejiTen NaruHina with slight KibaHina, and others!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of these songs.

Chapter 1: Moving Day

TENTEN

_Damn, this place is huge_, Tenten thought as she hauled her trunk through the large onyx gate into the campus, which was dotted with the tall trees native to the Fire country. Konoha Preparatory Academy completely dwarfed her old school. The main school building had two stories and could easily encompass Ibaraki High School by itself. She kept along the sidewalk until the street ended at the student parking section and continued on as a walking trail.

Tenten stopped to gather her bearings at a massive marble statue of two fierce men glaring at each other, each wielding a hand positioned to do a jutsu, like in some cheesy anime. (AN: Sound familiar? xD) She guessed that she was now at the middle of the campus. The trail created a roundabout around the statue while splitting off in four different directions. Tenten could make out four, brown buildings several stories tall at the western area of the campus. Facing East, Tenten could make out a grand stadium, colored dark green and black, with smaller buildings clustered around it. She could make out a baseball field a bit farther away.

Tenten continued walking until she reached the front of the school where there were already hundreds of students milling around. Tenten looked up above the grand doors of the school and in the direct center was an enormous forest green banner that read:

**(: ****Welcome Konoha Shinobi+Kunoichi :)**

…Really?

Smiley faces?

Tenten grimaced.

HINATA

Hinata timidly navigated her way past a group of chattering freshman on her way to the front office. Although it was still early that Saturday morning there were still quite a few students on the way to pick up their schedules and dorm rooms. Hinata's stomach flipped at the thought of the hallways jammed pack with a sea of students Monday. She had just started to get comfortable at her old school when she and several of her classmates, including her cousin, were zoned to KPA. Hinata silently cursed. She was not looking forward to another year of shyness and stuttering. Hinata waited patiently as Neji maneuvered his way through the same group of students, ignoring the stares and whispers of various girls in the hall.

"You haven't been here for more than two minutes and you've already developed quite the fan base," Hinata commented slyly.

Neji grunted in reply.

"Oi, Hinata!" a familiar voice called out from behind her. Hinata barely began to turn her head when a thick, muscled arm wrapped around her shoulders and gave her a tight squeeze.

"Kiba-kun," Hinata breathed. She gave a small smile, happy to see a familiar face so soon. Neji said nothing, but glared at Kiba for handling Hinata so roughly, though Kiba remained oblivious to his warning eyes

"Boy am I glad to see you! For a second I thought I would be here all by my lonesome! It sucks how they just snatched us out of Gunma High so suddenly," Kiba lamented.

"I know, I was worried that Neji would be the only one I knew around here," Hinata confessed.

Kiba grinned, giving Hinata a view of his white fangs. "At least we're here together now. This year is going to be epic!"

Hinata smiled. "I can't believe we're already juniors. High school is flying by."

"I know. That's why I want to make the most of this year, even if we're at a new school, "Kiba said determinedly. "Man, we're so lucky we're at the same school!" Kiba said dynamically.

Kiba's suddenly became solemn. "I really would have missed you Hinata-chan," Kiba said softly. Neji narrowed his eyes.

Hinata's faced blushed slightly. "I really would have missed you too Kiba-kun," she replied, looking up at his chestnut eyes. Kiba held her gaze for a moment before giving her a light squeeze and releasing her. He then resumed grinning.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's find out our new schedules, eh?"

SHIKAMARU

Tsk. Troublesome, Shikamaru thought. After receiving a slip of paper and ID, Shikamaru trudged back towards the front of the school. After fighting his way through the enormous amount of students in this goddamn hallway to the front office, Shikamaru began making his long trek back to the Boys' Dorms.

On the other side of the campus.

_It's way too early for this,_ Shikamaru complained. Shikamaru closed his eyes and yawned, oblivious to the blonde he was heading toward.

"Ouch! Watch it you jerk!" the girl angrily hissed as she ran into him.

Shikamaru lazily opened one eye to meet two dazzling cerulean orbs narrowed at him.

Oh God. Perfect.

He hadn't seen her in years. Not since middle school.

A troublesome day just isn't enough is it? You also need a troublesome woman apparently, since none other than Yamanaka Ino stood in his path

Ino placed both hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side, a stance he had seen many times in his childhood. He knew from experience that she was preparing to give him an earful. Glancing at the zebra print duffel bad she still clutched in her fist, Shikamaru noticed three younger boys behind her, struggling and hauling multiple suitcases and bags of the same fashion.

Shikamaru shook his head and chuckled. He pitied the freshmen that were already under the beauty's charm.

"Well? Aren't you going to apologize?" the blonde demanded. Shikamaru smirked.

"Apologize? You bumped into me too Ino," Shikamaru protested. Ino scrunched up her nose.

"How do you know my name?" Ino questioned suspiciously. Shikamaru sighed and shook his head.

"You really don't remember me, huh?" Shikamaru sneered. He could tell by her body language that she was completely stumped.

"I would hope even you would recognize your old childhood friend. Troublesome woman," Shikamaru taunted. Ino's eyes widened at her old nickname. Her gaze then traveled up to his high ponytail. Then it dawned on her.

"Shikamaru?" She whispered. Shikamaru smirked once again. Ino dropped her duffel bag. "Shika! Oh my God I can't believe it's really you!" Ino shrieked while throwing her arms around his neck.

Shikamaru, eyes wide, was knocked off balance by her tight hug. He was genuinely surprised at her reaction. Of all of the things he expected her to do, this was by far the least expected. Stunned for a few seconds, Shikamaru carefully returned her embrace. As he was closing his eyes, Shikamaru was met with glares from Ino's slaves.

"You've gotten so tall," Ino muffled, her face pressed against his chest. Shikamaru chuckled.

"I would hope so. I was a scrawny chump back in 6th grade," Shikamaru replied.

Ino gave a small giggle and removed herself from Shikamaru, which gave him the opportunity to examine her fully.

As troublesome as she was, Shikamaru had to admit that she was drop dead gorgeous. A pair of designer shades rested on top of her head, her platinum blonde hair pulled back into a long ponytail that went down her back. He couldn't help but notice how nice her purple tank top accentuated her curves, and how her white jean shorts showed off her creamy legs.

"C'mon, let's get out of this troublesome hallway," Shikamaru grumbled as a girl's elbow dug into his side. "Did you get your schedule yet?" he asked.

Ino shook her head, and they began their way towards the front office. After a few steps Ino turned around to see her freshmen rooted in their spots in the hallway, their gazes still shooting daggers at Shikamaru.

"Boys what's the holdup? I still need your big, strong muscles you know!" Ino called as she batted her eyelashes. Shikamaru grimaced; he could practically see hearts jump out of their eyes as they scrambled over each other in earnest to follow her.

"How long did it take you to pick up those puppy dogs?" Shikamaru pondered sarcastically. Ino gave him a bright smile and winked at him.

"How have you been Shika? I can't believe you're here! When you moved away from us I was certain I would never see you again," Ino said as they entered the line in front of the office.

Halfway through the 6th grade, Shikamaru's family had moved to the other side of Konoha in order to be closer to the deer the Nara take care of in their forest, much to Choji and Ino's despair.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Same old, same old I guess," Shikamaru drawled lazily as he scratched the back of his head. "I play basketball now if that's hard to believe. My old man made me my freshman year."

Ino burst out laughing. Shikamaru glared at her sideways as her body shook from her fits of laughter.

_I didn't think it was that farfetched_, Shikamaru grumbled. Her giggles continued for several more seconds before she finally squeezed out, "Shikamaru? Playing a sport? _Running_?", and she lost it again.

Shikamaru simmered quietly while they made their way closer to the front office and he pulled his schedule out of his pocket to examine once more.

"By the way, what electives did you choose for this year?" Shikamaru asked. As soon as this was said, Ino immediately stopped her laughing.

"Ummm, I-I don't really remember. I'm trying out for the Dance Team though," Ino stammered, her eyes not quite meeting Shikamaru's.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, easily seeing through her lie. _What classes could possibly be worth hiding from me? _Shikamaru wondered, but he did not question her further as they were now at the Secretary's desk in front of the office. A woman with short black hair and large black eyes smiled and greeted them

"Good morning, my name is Ms. Shizune. May I have your name and grade please?"

"Yamanaka Ino, 11th grade," Ino recited.

After typing a few keys on her computer, Ms. Shizune began printing a piece of paper then began rummaging through a file cabinet below her desk. By the time the sheet was printed, she produced a small plastic card.

"This is your ID badge," Shizune said while showing it to Ino. "Your badge grants you access to your dorm room, allows you to check out books at the Library, and allow you free access to all Home Games, concerts and other extracurricular activities at KPA. Take care not to lose it. Also, since this is our first year open, we had to use pictures from you're previous school's yearbooks to have on your badges," Shizune explained.

Ino gasped and she glanced down at her ID in Shizune's hand. Shikamaru only saw a faint image of blonde hair on the badge before Ino snatched it away from Shizune and stuffed it into her pocket.

Unsure what happened, Shizune paused for a second before proceeding to hand Ino her schedule, which she promptly plucked out of her hands and folded it into her hands swiftly.

Shikamaru allowed himself a small smile. He had never seen her so flustered before.

Shizune narrowed her eyes at Ino.

"Next in line please," she said steely and Ino quickly stepped out of line. Shikamaru glanced down at her red face to see her nervously staring back up at him.

"Troublesome," was Shikamaru's only comment, and he began to drag his luggage toward the Boys' Dorms.

_Girls are so complicated_, he thought.

He heard her release her pent up breath and she skipped after him until they were side by side and Shikamaru decided to change the subject for Ino's sake.

"So how have you been?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino's eyes lit up.

"I thought you'd never ask," Ino said smiling and she took a deep breath.

_Shit._

SAKURA

"Finally!" Sakura breathed exasperatedly as she entered the air conditioned building. Catching her breath, she wearily picked up her luggage again and set off for the elevator. Seeing that her dorm number was 21-C, she assumed that she was on the second floor. Sakura dragged her suitcases into the elevator and weakly pressed the button for Floor 2. Her arms felt like jelly, and she was yet again reminded of the girl with blonde hair she caught a glimpse of. Jealousy had surged through her when she saw those boys carrying her multiple bags and suitcases while drooling after her.

_If only I had a fan club of boys then I wouldn't have to lift a finger,_ she thought angrily.

When the doors opened, Sakura tried her very best to pick up her things. She really did, but exhaustion took its toll. She cursed herself for bringing so many pairs of shoes with her.

By the time she had finally nudged and pulled all of her luggage off of the elevator, the door to someone's room opened and two beautiful girls stepped out, leaving Sakura awestruck. The taller girl, who had beautiful crimson hair murmured something into to the small petite girl who reminded Sakura of a little china doll.

Their heels dug into the soft carpet of the hallway as they made their way to the elevator. A small ding signaled that the elevator doors opened again.

"Excuse me!" Sakura called out, giving a small smile to the girls. "Do you two mind helping me out a little? I'm at 28-C, right down..the hall," Sakura died off. The two girls didn't even bat an eyelash at her. The redhead walked past her with a sneer on her face, pretending as though Sakura didn't exist while China Doll glanced at her and gave a snicker. China Doll began whispering in Redhead's ear while flicking her eyes towards her, which made the redhead give a nasty laugh. Hurt flashed across Sakura's face.

As they neared the elevator, a tall brunette stepped off with a look of disgust on her face. The girl looked very athletic and fit but simultaneously maintained a curvy figure. She was most distinguishable by the two buns her hair was pinned up in.

"Excuse me but I believe she asked you a question," said Buns. She looked composed but Sakura heard the steel in her voice.

The girls looked surprised at her words but continued to ignore the two as they stepped in the elevator.

"At least step off your pedestals and say _no_ like a normal human being!" Buns exclaimed.

The redhead burst into laughter as China Doll pressed a button, closing the doors.

"Bitches," muttered Buns under her breath.

"Tell me about it," Sakura muttered. She glanced back towards the brunette.

"Thank you for standing up for me back there," Sakura said giving a small smile "My name's Haruno Sakura".

"Pleased to meet you Sakura, I'm Tenten," the brunette replied warmly. 'There's no need to thank me, it's what anyone would have done". Tenten then looked at Sakura and her luggage and whistled.

"How many people did you pack for, an army?" Tenten said, amazement on her face.

Sakura laughed. "Yeah, something like that," she joked.

Tenten grinned, then picked up a suitcase. "Well, let's get this up to your dorm then! 28-C was it?"

NARUTO

_C'mon, C'mon, C'mon, C'mon,_ thought Naruto. _I have to hurry if I want to pick the bed farthest from the door! _Naruto knew that whoever slept closest to the door would then be given the unofficial responsibility to _answer_ the door. And if this year would be anything like last year, which involved many late night parties, then he wouldn't get any sleep. He really wasn't looking forward to trudging toward the door at 3 A.M. to open up the door.

Naruto impatiently hopped around, too jittery to stand still as he waited for the elevator to rise. As soon as he heard the ding of the elevator Naruto dashed out the doors..

..Completely running over a girl right outside the doors. Naruto caught a glimpse of navy blue hair before he heard a small squeak. They were both caught completely off-guard that they had no time to break their falls. Luggage went flying everywhere.

A small _oomph!_ was heard from the small girl squished underneath him. Naruto hastily lifted his head off of the girls' shoulder to looked sheepishly at the girl's astonished face. Naruto's eyes widened as he recognized her lavender eyes. He remembered back in middle school, when he was still alone, she was the closest thing he ever had to a friend. Hell, she was probably the only reason he even made it to High School.

"Hinata!" he shouted worriedly, "Are you alright?" he demanded? Naruto began to move his hands down the sides of her arms then back up to her face, checking for any damage. Hinata vigorously shook her head while she began to blush madly. Naruto cursed himself. He could have really hurt her.

Naruto then realized their position and he quickly climbed off of her and offered her his hand.

"I'm really sorry about this Hinata," Naruto said sheepishly as she took his hand. "I was trying to get to my dorm first, you know, to pick out my bed and get my stuff set up before my roommate" Naruto nervously explained as he picked her up from the ground. Hinata quickly snatched her hand away and she proceeded to wring her hands together as she nodded quickly.

_Is she afraid of me or something?_ He wondered. _Maybe she doesn't remember me,_ he thought glumly.

"Do you remember me? From middle school? I'm Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto said hopefully.

If possible, her face turned an even darker red.

"Of course Naruto," Hinata said with a shy smile.

Naruto gave her a grin then hastily picked up all of her luggage and proceeded to gather up his own.

"Are you sure you're okay? I feel really bad about this," he confessed nervously. "The only familiar face at this school so far and I flatten you to the ground," he said regretfully.

"N-No everything's okay Naruto-"

"It's not okay. Here, I'll make it up to you somehow!" Naruto promised. He then closed his eyes in concentration for a second before his eyes flew open.

"I know! Just please wait for me right here while I go put my luggage in my room. I'll come right back out and walk you to your room. Is that cool with you?" Naruto asked. Hinata nodded shyly.

"T-That'd be great," Hinata stammered. Naruto looked visibly relieved.

"Phew! Thank you so much Hinata-chan," he breathed. "We can catch up along the way, I haven't seen you in years! Just stay put, alright?" Naruto ordered as he began walking backwards down the hall. When he saw her nod, Naruto turned around and jogged towards the door 34-C.

He swiped his ID into a scanner located near the door handle. A small green light flashed brightly and Naruto opened the door.

Naruto's jaw dropped to the floor, along with all of his bags.

There, lounging on the bed, _his bed_, in the farthest corner of the room, was a boy with chiseled facial features. His raven colored hair, wild and unruly, stood out against his pale skin. At the sound of the door opening, his eyes opened to reveal dark, onyx orbs as he gazed at Naruto.

The boy smirked.

Naruto was furious.

"TEME!"

-X-

What are your thoughts on the first chapter? Please R&R!

Also, if anyone is interested I would love to have someone help edit my chapters for the story! Please PM me!


	2. Roommates

A/N: (HEY DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW YOU RESPOND TO REVIEWS CAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA! Please don't take it personally (Renjihime143 and Leah Hunter), I have no idea what to do)

Thank you so much for the reviews guys,, it really means a lot to me!

I'm going to shoot for uploading a chapter once a week, but since it's summer and I have the time, my uploads will be a little quicker. I feel so horrible for bringing you this one so quick, please don't get used to it. I've literally been writing all day and I just finished at 6am. (i know im obsessed)

Also if anyone is interested in helping me in proof reading my chapters before I upload them please PM me!

Fun Fact: computersaurus is also my tumblr username.

Chapter 2: Roommates

-X-

SASUKE

Sasuke, who arrived to his dorm several minutes ago, had been silently dreading the moment when his new roommate would step through the door. He was plagued with the image of a Rock Lee or Suigetsu barging through and forever ending any hope of quiet for the rest of the year.

Sasuke rolled his suitcases further into his new living quarters, which was basically two square rooms connected by a small hallway. The bare room contained a small black couch and two matching armchairs, a tall dresser, and a round table with a few chairs. A small coffee table lay in front of the couch. He continued to the hallway where he found a clean, but cramped, bathroom.

Sasuke was impressed, their own bathroom? KPA was making up for its horrible first impression.

Sasuke, along with countless other students, were informed of their immediate transfer at seemingly random times in the past two months. Not that he would miss anything about the school, but it was still a major inconvenience. Sasuke himself was sent a letter barely a month before school started. He wasn't even sure if his only friend, if you could call him that, was even here.

In the next room lay two beds, one notably farther away from the hallway, two small nightstands, and two closets on opposite sides of the room. Sasuke moved forward to the farthest bed and set down his belongings and sat down. A large window gave him a view of the quiet forest surrounding the campus.

Sasuke pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time.

_9:03? Yeesh, _Sasuke thought. Sasuke sighed and lied down on his back and closed his eyes. Lunch wasn't until 12:15 so he might as well catch up on some sleep.

With the click of the door, Sasuke tensed, all drowsiness erased. Most likely, his unknown roommate had just opened the door.

Sasuke kept his eyes shut, silently praying for the most nonverbal, stoical character around.

The boy noisily rushed through the door, and Sasuke's ears picked up his barely audible pants. Had he been running or something?

He listened to the boy fumble with his luggage, along with the clumsy thumps of his bags banging and scraping the walls of the hallway, until all noise ceased.

All at once he heard all of the boy's bags crash to the ground.

He carefully opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of a very pissed off blonde. His strong jaw was clenching and unclenching repeatedly and his hands were tightened into fists. His body was rigid and his tan skin was slowly turning a bright shade of red.

Positively relieved, Sasuke smirked. Uzumaki Naruto shook in rage then sucked in a ton of breath.

"TEME!"

RANDOM BOY NEXT DOOR

"What the hell?" he muttered, glaring at the wall from which the shout came from.

SASUKE

Sasuke stared blankly at his best friend.

"What?"

"'WHAT?'" Naruto threw his hands in the air. "WHADDYA MEAN 'WHAT?' YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT!" Naruto bellowed.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"YOU LIAR, I TEXTED YOU LAST WEEK AND YOU SAID YOU WERE STAYING AT CHIBA!"

Sasuke frowned. Had he really said that? The expression on Naruto's face told him that he definitely did.

"Whoops." Sasuke stated then closed his eyes again. He could practically feel the lasers from Naruto's eyes boring into his skull.

Naruto breathed in and shakily released his breath in an effort to regain his composure.

Sasuke cracked open an eye to see Naruto's lasers burning into his mattress.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Bed." Naruto said through gritted teeth.

"This is my bed," Sasuke stated, and after an afterthought, "Dobe." He added.

"Dammit Sasuke! You know how I HATE sleeping close to the door! You remember last year!"

At their old high school, Chiba High, the teachers and faculty on night watch would roam the halls performing random checkups on the student's rooms. Their school was very strict about members of the opposite sex in each other's dorms.

On top of the random checkups they would normally get, Naruto, the knucklehead he is, managed to piss of the majority of their teachers, ensuring at least one knocking adult on their door at ungodly hours every night in order to get their revenge.

Sasuke shrugged. "Of course I remember. That's why I chose this bed," Sasuke said. He put his hands behind his head. "Besides, if you really wanted a farther bed then you should have arrived earlier to get it."

Naruto flinched at his words. If possible, Naruto seemed to grow even more livid than before. He stomped over to the bed near the hallway and gave it a sharp tug.

It didn't budge

"I'm guessing it's screwed into the floor." Sasuke stated obviously, earning him another glare.

"Gee, thanks Sasuke." Naruto's voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sasuke replied with his famous "Hn."

Naruto said nothing, other than the occasional curse, as he shrugged off his backpack and dropped all of his bags, save a bright, orange duffel bag which he set on the bed.

Sasuke watched as he roughly unzipped the bag to reveal a mini-fridge, and nothing else.

_Typical_, Sasuke thought smugly.

Naruto plugged it in right next to his bed then pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Don't touch." Naruto commanded while glaring at him, then promptly left the dorm and slammed the door.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Although he wasn't thrilled to have the blonde as his roommate for the third year in a row, Sasuke was overall please with having Naruto.

_There could be worse, _Sasuke argued. He thought for a quick second.

_MUCH worse, _Sasuke decided as he imagined Rock Lee, who had also transferred to KPA.

Sasuke was furious to see him here. It wasn't even 8:00 when he drove into the parking lot to see Lee running around the damn campus with his ridiculous green spandex.

When he first got the letter informing him of his immediate transfer, he was relieved to have finally rid himself of the green beast and his silly challenges.

It was too good to be true, however.

He tried to close his eyes and find sleep, but the combination of memories of Lee's monstrous eyebrows and the ringing in his ears from Naruto's outburst prevented him from napping.

He checked the time and barely twenty minutes had passed.

Now he was in a bad mood.

Sasuke sighed and glanced at Naruto's bed, then to his fridge.

A devilish grin spread across his face.

(A/N: HAHAH ITS 4:20 PM RIGHT NOW HAHAH)

INO

As they piled into the elevator, Shikamaru sagged against the wall, releasing a heavy sigh.

_That's Shikamaru for you. Tired from that little walk to the dormitories,_ Ino mused.

The rest of the freshmen boys squeezed in, forcing Ino to put her story on hold as she made room for them to enter the elevator. Ino pressed the necessary buttons to bring them to their respective floors then turned back around to face the lazy genius as they began to ascend.

"Now where was I?" Ino pondered. She then snapped her fingers.

"Oh yeah! And so then I was like, 'Really'? And then Karui was like 'Oh my God, yes!' and then I was like-"

"We're here!" Shikamaru said quickly, cutting her off.

Maybe a little _too_ quickly.

Ino squinted at him. He looked pretty eager to end the conversation. The man looked as if a heavy burden was lifted from his shoulders.

Shikamaru hastily stepped off of the elevator.

"Well here's my floor. I better get to my dorm and unpack." Shikamaru said, but there was no mistaking the eagerness hidden in his voice. Hurt flashed across her face and she quickly avoided his eyes.

_He's trying to get rid of me,_ Ino realized. How foolish of her to think that he actually wanted to rekindle their old friendship.

Looking back on the times when they were kids, Ino realized that their friendship was just Iino bossing him around and Shikamaru calling her troublesome. He couldn't possibly want any more of that.

"O-Oh, okay then," Ino murmured. As she turned around to board the elevator, Shikamaru grabbed her wrist gently.

"Hey," he said softly. Ino's eyes widened. She had never heard him speak so tenderly.

"I'm just a little tired right now. Waking up early is so troublesome," Shikamaru explained as he gave a small smile.

"I'll wait for you downstairs around noon, okay?" he asked hopefully.

Ino felt a small flutter in her chest as she met his gentle gaze. She couldn't help the small blush that spread across her cheeks. She gulped.

"Okay," she squeaked. She surged forward and gave him a quick embrace before rapidly entering the elevator.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Troublesome," He said as Ino repeatedly tapped the Close button on the elevator wall.

Although she avoided his eyes, Ino could feel his gaze burning into her as the elevator doors closed.

Ino released the shaky breath she didn't know she was holding. What was wrong with her?

_When did Shikamaru start making me nervous?_ Ino demanded. She leaned against the wall and fanned her face with her hands as the elevator carried them to the third floor.

She glanced to the boys with her luggage to see look visibly distraught by her exchange with the junior. Guilt crept into her mind and she faced the boys.

"I'm sorry for dragging you guys around all morning .It was really rude of me to do that. I know it's a little late, but you all can drop off my stuff outside the elevator and head on to your own dorms." Ino offered sincerely.

The boys exchanged glances. The shortest boy, who was completely covered by her bags, piped up.

"It's fine Ino-san, it really wasn't that bad honestly, but.." he began.

Ino raised an eyebrow.

"..Will you please tell us what you said next to Karui? Please? Did all of that really happen?"

She felt three pleading sets of eyes set on her.

Ino laughed. Freshmen.

TENTEN

"Okay, that's the last of them." Tenten said as she brought the last two suitcases into the living room.

Sakura let out a heavy sigh. "Thank you so much Tenten" she said wearily before collapsing on her white sofa. Tenten fell in next to her and stretched out her legs.

"Thank _you_ for saving me a trip to the gym," Tenten joked.

They sat together in a comfortable silence while Tenten occasionally sneaked glances at Sakura's bubblegum hair. She decided to break the silence.

"So why _did_ you bring so much stuff? It looks like you brought you're entire room in those bags," Tenten asked. "It certainly felt like it." Tenten complained as she motioned to the six or so suitcases by the door

Sakura thought for a while before answering.

"I pretty much did bring my room. I received an email about my transfer _three weeks ago_, so I didn't have much time to get ready. I literally just stripped down the whole room," Sakura revealed.

Tenten looked outraged.

"Although," Sakura admitted. "I'm not gonna lie. I probably would have brought almost the same amount nevertheless. I couldn't imagine parting with any of my clothes." Sakura said as she gazed longingly at her luggage.

"Three weeks!?" Tenten exclaimed in disbelief. "What lazy bastard was in charge of sending out these letters, huh? Everyone I've talked to so far received their letter super late too!" Tenten swore. "Just wait till I get my hands on that jerk. We should have gotten these months in advance!"

"Whoever that knucklehead is must have absolutely no sense of time whatsoever." Sakura muttered darkly.

_Flashback: FOUR MONTHS AGO_

A young man sat down in front of his computer and sighed as he looked at the unbearably long list of students. His eyes glazed over just by looking at the screen.

The man cursed and ran a hand through his wild white hair.

Perhaps he didn't have to do it now. He had loads of time before anyone _really_ needed them.

The man smiled through his mask.

_The transfer notices could wait a week or two,_ He thought as he exited out of the list.

His fingers robotically typed in the web address to his favorite manga.

His one visible eye slowly scanned each panel of _Icha Icha Paradise _very_, very _carefully.

_End Flashback_

Tenten and Sakura chatted for a while after their anger subsided. From what she learned during the conversation, Sakura came from Ibaraki Academy where she was on the volleyball team along with their dance team.

Tenten's eyes lit up as she mentioned the sport.

"Really, you play? Me too!" Tenten said excitedly. She was really loving this girl.

Right before they got to sink into an exciting, engaging conversation about the greatest sport in the history of mankind, someone knocked on the door and the door handle jiggled.

Tenten whipped her head around towards the door with a murderous glare.

_Who dares to disturb the mighty Tenten during Volleyball Time_- she began to angrily think when the door swung open to reveal a gorgeous girl with platinum blonde hair and a mountain of luggage behind her.

"-And so Samui was like, 'How dare you!' and then Karui was like, 'How dare _you_!', and then-" the blonde stopped as she noticed the two girls on the couch.

She glanced down at her ID. "Did they give me the wrong room?" she wondered aloud.

_She must think we're roommates, _Tenten guessed.

The beauty then focused her gaze on the rosette beside Tenten and gasped.

"Oh my God."

Tenten looked beside her to see her new friend with her jaw hitting the floor.

Sakura screamed.

Ino screamed.

Tenten blinked once to see Sakura practically fly off the couch towards the girl.

"INO-PIG!"

"FOREHEAD!"

They tightly embraced each other and hopped around in a little circle. Sakura started spouting some gibberish and the girl called Ino-pig burst into tears.

"I t-thought I'd never s-see you again!" Ino-pig stuttered through her tears.

They sank to their knees, Ino-pig practically sobbing now.

Tenten awkwardly stood up and eased her way near the door where she picked up her luggage.

"I'll let you two catch up," Tenten called, almost yelling as she moved past the boys with the luggage.

She was almost certain that the girls heard nothing over their blubbering.

HINATA

Their little walk had been far too short so they nonverbally agreed to continue hanging out in her dorm.

Or actually, to continue Naruto talking and Hinata listening. She was so nervous in front of her crush that she couldn't do more than nod yes and shake her head no.

Which didn't really bother her much at first.

Hinata loved listening to him. Naruto chattered about anything and everything, from his favorite color (orange, duh!) to his adventures with his friend Uchiha Sasuke at Chiba.

She soaked in every word he said. She marveled at the mischievous gleam in his eyes as he recited his jokes and at the way his eyes lit up when he spoke about Jiraiya, his adoptive father. Hinata could listen to his all day.

Hinata eventually steeled her nerves.

_The next time I get the opportunity to talk I_ will, Hinata promised.

As he spoke about one of the pranks he was planning for the school year, a vibration from his pocket interrupted him. Naruto continued talking as he simultaneously unlocked his phone and looked down.

"I'm not sure if I should've saved it for that annoying underclassman or-,"Naruto paused as he tapped the phone's screen.

His eyes widened as he gawked at the phone. Hinata looked worried.

"What's wrong?" she said, her voice filled with concern.

"That bastard," Naruto whispered. Hinata bent down to peer at his phone.

Someone had texted him a picture of a charming boy with pale dark locks of hair framing his face. He wore a slight smirk on his face along with a..Hinata squinted.

A refrigerator? Whatever it was, the boy had it propped on his shoulder.

Hinata shot a questioning look to Naruto as the phone vibrated again.

A new picture showed the same white object sitting dangerously on an open window sill.

"THAT BASTARD." Naruto roared as he shot to his feet.

"W-What's going on? What was he doing?"

"I swear I'm going to kick his ass! He's gonna smash my mini fridge! I'm sorry Hinata but I have to go!" he said hurriedly shoving his phone into his pocket.

"But-"

"I'll see you at lunch Hinata! I have an asshole to take care of!" Naruto growled and just like that, charged out the room and slammed the door.

Hinata sat stunned for a while.

"God dammit." Hinata swore quietly. She buried her face in her hands.

Not only had she been rendered speechless in front of him yet again, a _refrigerator _ended one of the most enjoyable experience she's had in a while, yet Naruto left without a second glance.

Hinata felt completely miserable, she felt as if she had just turned invisible.

Hinata grabbed one of the small pillows off of the couch and screamed into it.

Not a second later did she hear two shrieks echo her.

Hinata tilted her head to the side in confusion. The sound was coming from the dorm next door.

She stood up and pressed her ear and heard faint sobbing.

_Something's wrong_, Hinata thought. Preparing for the worst, Hinata rushed to the door and flung it open to see a brunette with large, warm eyes squeezing past a heap of luggage and into the hallway.

"Is everything okay over there" Hinata's voice filled with concern. The brunette laughed.

"Everything's peachy, those two are just having a little reunion" she explained, jabbing her thumb toward the dorm. Hinata gave a huge sigh.

"Thank goodness. I was expecting a gunman or something," Hinata said with relief. The brunette gave her a peculiar look.

"And what exactly _were_ you planning to _do _against said gunman?" Tenten questioned comically. "Besides die, of course,"

Hinata paused, completely at a loss of words. The girls giggled.

"I'm Hyuga Hinata." she said enthusiastically. Something about this girl made Hinata very at ease.

_I haven't stuttered once yet!_ Hinata realized

"Nice to meet you Hina, I'm Tenten," said the brunette. She glanced at the open door to Hinata's room, then down to the ID badge around her neck.

"And also you're new roommate."

-X-

A/N: Hmm, I wonder who was in charge of sending out the transfer notices.

Aww, no Neji in this chapter :c, we'll see enough of him in Chapter 3!

I also found out how to reply back to a review so please do so!


	3. Orientation

AN: I'm going to destroy this website because I never get any notifications. Right before I was going to sleep I randomly checked my profile and my new reviews. All the things you say inspired me to stay up a lil more I really appreciate you guys.

SHOUTOUT TO ALL MY NEW REVIEWERS, OLD REVIEWERS, AND NEW STORY FOLLOWERS YOU ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL

I haven't been too close to my computer, I've been out of town and school starts in a few weeks so that's why this update is slow. I'll do my best in the future to be on time, I'm shooting for an update a week.

Also, please tell me if you guys think I should keep writin "Hyuga" instead of "Hyuuga". I don't know why but I absolutely HATE typing Hyuga. I think it looks much better with two U's like they spell it in Subbed episodes.

I'm still looking for an editor to help me out, if you don't have a life like me (:

Fun Fact: I don't curse but I feel like it makes the story more believable, since they are in high school.

Chapter 3: Orientation

NEJI

The Hyuga frowned. After several failed attempts of waking his roommate with his voice, Neji was astounded.

The dark haired man, _Nara_, he remembered, could quite possibly sleep through several earthquakes. Although they weren't more than a few yards apart, Shikamaru remained oblivious to his phone's alarm and Neji's barks.

Neji sighed and untied a brown loafer from his feet. He took careful aim, then launched the footwear carefully at the snoring student.

With a light _plop! _the shoe tapped Nara on the nose causing a snort to erupt from the boy. One dark eye popped open, fixing a sharp gaze on the Hyuga prodigy across the room, then at his beeping phone..

"I take it you're going to lunch?" Neji asked. "It's almost noon."

Releasing a deep sigh, Nara banged his head against the mattress. "So troublesome," the Nara answered while sitting up in his bed. He shut off his phone's alarm and swung his legs over the side of his bed. Nara slowly stood, stretching and scratching in the process. "Thanks, but maybe next time you can try a different method to waking me up. I don't like being target practice." He mumbled as he tossed the loafer back to its owner.

"What do you have in mind, fireworks?" Neji asked sarcastically. "Believe me, you could sleep through a hurricane."

"I have actually," Nara said smirking. "Remember that one our freshman year? I was taking a nap in my backyard and I woke up to find the tree I was sleeping against completely gone," Nara recalled as he slid his feet into his gray Toms.

Neji didn't even bat an eyelash at his words. He had no doubts about the Nara and his sleeping skills. He finished tying his shoe then stood up and began making his way towards the door with the lazy genius in tow.

As they shut the door, Neji noticed several boys already making their way to the cafeteria.

_This floor must be all boys, _Neji noted as a few more stepped out of their rooms. Their building had four floors so it was safe to assume that two were boys and two were girls.

The geniuses took the staircase, conveniently right by their room, downstairs.

"By the way," Nara mentioned. "I might have to wait for my friend to come down from her dorm, so I won't be able to hold your hand as you make your way down to the school." he drawled smugly.

Nara's joke was rewarded with a one-of-a-kind death glare from the Hyuga,

"I think I'll manage." Neji said flatly as they stepped off the final stair and onto the ground floor. Neji was granted with a pleasant view as they neared the front door of the building.

Hinata hadn't been in this jungle for more than a few hours and she was already making friends. The petite Hyuga was in a small circle with three other girls, all of them listening intently to an _incredibly_ loudmouthed blonde in the group. There were a few dozen students gossiping and making their way out the door where they loitered next to, so it was a shame he could hear her from the 20 pace distance between them.

His sharp ears picked up a few pieces of the conversation as he watched as all of the girls burst out laughing, Hinata covering her mouth behind her hands. Something about a girl named Karui?

Neji couldn't help but feel a surge of pride as he approached Hinata's beaming face. As long as he could remember his cousin was a nervous wreck. Her shyness had always gotten in the way when she tried to socialize and he knew it killed her inside. He could only recall a handful of friends that she's ever really had.

He had seen firsthand how what a pleasant and beautiful personality she contained and it hurt to see her silently suffer. Hinata was already like a sister to him, so it only contributed to Neji's overprotectiveness towards his cousin.

Neji shifted his gaze to her companions.

_Her friends certainly are unique, _Neji thought as his eyes lingered on the rosette.

A yawn broke from the teenager beside him.

"Recognize anyone?" Neji asked, following his gaze to the same group of girls.

"The troublesome one is Ino," Nara drawled, nonverbally pointing out the blonde.

Neji smirked. Nara, the most easygoing guy on this planet _would_ be the one associate himself with easily the loudest woman he had ever met.

"I take it that's your sister?" Shikamaru asked, nodding his head towards the girl with the same lavender eyes as his.

"Cousin."

"Ah."

The blonde, Ino, met Neji's eyes as the distance between continued to shrink. Her cerulean eyes next landed on the Nara next to him. Her eyes visibly brightened, Neji observed, as they landed on his roommate. She then darted outside the door and out of view for a short moment and returned dragging a boy with long, spiky brown hair. Although quite pudgy, the student was tall with a subtle amount of muscle adding to his shape.

For the first time since he met the man, Nara grinned.

Neji was surprised. He wasn't aware that his roommate could manage any other facial expression except for his 'tired' look.

"C'mon Ino, let go already!" the brunette complained as Ino dragged him towards the two boys. "At this rate my arm's gonna-" Ino halted him in front of Shikamaru and gave the boy an ecstatic look.

"Ta-da!" she announced as she presented him the Nara. The brunette widened his eyes as he looked at the lazy ass in front of him. He threw his hands into the air.

"Shikamaru!" the boy exclaimed as he yanked him into a powerful embrace. "It's really you man!"

Nara gave a wholehearted laugh, yes, Nara laughed, and clapped his friend on the back. "I can't believe it either buddy." As hard as he tried to hide it, the Nara was clearly just as excited to see Choji as he was to see him.

Choji released his buddy then turned to glare at Ino.

"How long did you know Shikamaru was here?" Choji demanded as he crossed his arms and Shikamaru followed suit. "We could've met up a long time ago!" he protested angrily and Ino took a quick step back.

"Woah, woah boys, hold on!" Ino said hurriedly as she held her hands up defensively. "I just wanted our reunion to be perfect!" Ino claimed.

The boys exchanged glances and silently agreed to glower at her more.

"Aw, come on, it wasn't _that long_" the blonde whined. "I only saw Shikamaru about ten minutes ago anyway." Before Shikamaru could open his mouth, Ino stepped up and slung an arm around each of their shoulders, forcing the two boys to bend their knees for her to reach.

"See? Just like old times!" Ino said cheerfully. "The Ino-Shika-Cho formation is reborn!"

Neji raised an eyebrow at Nara.

_Ino-Shika-Cho formation? Who do they think they are, ninjas?_

(A/N):Ba dum tsss.

Nara groaned. "So troublesome." He complained, drawing out a laugh from his two friends.

Noticing the commotion, Hinata and her two friends drifted towards the blonde. His cousin gave him an excited wave, which he returned with a nod.

"Who are these guys Ino?" the rosette questioned, her startling green eyes gesturing towards Neji and Shikamaru. The brunette, who had her hair tied in two buns, also looked curious.

"Oh! Well this is Nara Shikamaru, we three are old childhood friends. You already know him from Ibaraki Academy Sakura, but Tenten and Hinata, this is Akimichi Choji. He was with me all throughout high school." Ino then gave me a little nervous glance.

"I'm not sure who this guy is though," Ino glanced hopefully up at me.

"I'm Hyuga Neji, Hinata's cousin and Nara's roommate." Neji said shortly.

"Cool!" the rosette piped. "Well I'm Haruno Sakura," she said while introducing her other friends. Neji stuck his hand out and received small, polite handshakes from the blonde and the rosette. Neji turned to the brunette, Tenten, and received a large smile from her as he met her deep chocolate eyes.

Neji was surprised. Not many people, much less girls, ever made eye contact with him so easily. He always assumed that his eyes were somewhat intimidating, especially strangers.

..

And maybe he sometimes came off as a bit aggressive, sometimes.

When he moved to shake her hand, she met it with a firm grasp that matched Neji's, surprising him yet again.

He wasn't sure why, but Neji felt a strange satisfaction from their greeting.

Hinata pulled out her phone and checked the time.

"Do you guys want to head to lunch now? The cafeteria opens in a few minutes," Hinata reminded them.

"Of course! I'm starving!" Yamanaka exclaimed, looping her arms through her boys' arms.

"What a pig," Haruno muttered to Tenten under her breath.

"I HEARD THAT FOREHEAD!" roared Ino, causing Shikamaru to cringe. Hinata giggled and they all started walking towards the front door, leaving Neji behind.

Although he was happy for his cousin, Neji couldn't help but a feel a twinge of sadness. He was hoping to spend time with Hinata but he didn't want to interfere with her friends.

Neji gave a small smile, then began to turn around back to his dorm. He didn't want to force Hinata or Nara into letting him into their circle. He decided he would finish unpacking a few more things before he went back downstairs again. He wasn't hungry anyway.

"Hey! Neji right? Aren't you coming?"

Neji turned towards the door to see Tenten standing halfway out of the front door, her head cocked questioningly to the side. He observed a few stray locks of hair as they escaped from her two buns and veiled her tan face, her large eyes questioning.

Stunned, Neji recovered with a small "Hn," and quickly caught up to Tenten with a few quick strides, his stomach growling in the process.

SAKURA

Sakura sighed with relief as she sat down with her lunch tray. It seems that only juniors and seniors ate lunch at this time, which prevented a lot of potential traffic in the cafeteria.

Ino sat down next to her while the rest of the gang piled in around the circular table.

She couldn't help but smile at her friend next to her. It had been devastating to her when she received her letter for KPA. For the first time ever in her life she would have been away from Ino. The mere thought of being away from her other half seemed to squeeze her heart.

Sakura gave Ino a large smile when she turned her way, but the blonde simply glanced at the greasy slice of pizza on her tray and gave a disdainful sniff as she turned back around.

Her smile disappeared in a heartbeat and her expression changed to one of thunder. Maybe she wouldn't miss this brat as much as she thought.

Sakura glanced down at Ino's tray, which consisted of a small garden salad.

"'Starving', huh Pig?" Sakura smirked as she motioned to her meal.

Ino wrinkled her nose. "What I eat doesn't concern you Billboard Brow, I'm on a diet," Ino retorted. "Besides, you should be paying more attention to what _you _eat. That pizza is gonna go straight to that forehead of yours."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and replied by sinking her teeth into her warm pizza.

"_MMMHM _so good," Sakura moaned as flavor exploded into her mouth. The satisfaction on the rose's face earned her a look of pure loathing from Ino. She pulled on the gooey cheese and watched with contentment as Ino groaned. The blonde whimpered as Sakura teased her tantalizingly with the mozzarella until she finally reeled it into her mouth.

As much success she was having torturing Ino, Sakura needed backup.

"Aren't you glad you got the _pizza_ Hinata?" Sakura asked innocently, turning her attention on the day dreaming girl beside her. Hinata gave her a blank stare until she gave her a sharp elbow in her side and a stern look.

The petite girl jumped. "O-Oh yes! Yum, delicious!" Hinata spilled out rapidly. She took a small bite and feigned a terribly unconvincing look of satisfaction.

Sakura dropped her pizza on her tray as she went into a fit of giggling. Neji gave a small chuckle while the other girls simply lost it. Shikamaru just sighed as Hinata turned a light shade of pink.

Sakura wiped her tears away and picked up her pizza again. Her new friend was just too adorable. Hinata was looking around the table, wondering what she did that was so funny.

Sakura leaned in to take another bite when a familiar voice boomed from somewhere behind her.

"Oi, Teme! Wait up you bastard!"

Sakura whipped her head around in disbelief. That voice sounded _way _too familiar. Her heart sank as she recognized the two boys making their way towards the lunch lines.

_Naruto _and_ Sasuke. _How the hell did these guys make it here?

Sakura met the duo during summer school a few months ago. Sakura had decided to take Medical Terminology during her vacation so she could be in Health Sciences a year early, while the boys were forced to make up the class. Something about having too many absences. Even though they didn't go to the same school, the three relatively became friends. They had hung out several times outside of class and would quiz each other before the tests. Sakura honestly had no problem with Naruto. Though a bit obnoxious, he really was sweet.

_The problem is Sasuke_, Sakura thought glumly as she followed the Uchiha with her gaze. He was effortlessly gorgeous. The whole summer he had her stammering and blubbering by just one look from his onyx eyes. She could hardly keep her eyes off of him for their one class, how was she going to do it for a whole day?

Worse, she didn't speak a word about him to Ino, which was her _real_ problem. If Ino saw the way she acted around him then she would immediately know what was up and she'd never hear the end of it.

Sakura watched as Sasuke continued to ignore the blonde buzzing around him. His hands were stuffed in his pockets while her eyes trailed up his body. His shirt, a dark maroon, clung to him tightly, his V-neck dipping towards the cut in his chest.

God, he's so beautiful. Her eyes were glued momentarily to his strong Adam's apple.

She went higher to study his face. Past his chiseled jaw, past his lips to his..

Oh _shit._

Sasuke's dark eyes were looking directly at her, a smirk forming on his face.

Sakura's face flooded with color. How long had he known she was staring at him? She realized she still had her pizza hanging above her open mouth and she quickly set it down. If possible, Sasuke looked even smugger than before. Hopefully no one saw how blatantly obvious she was.

"Damn Sakura, you like what you see?" Tenten teased, causing a few chuckles from around their table.

_This can't be happening,_ she thought miserably.

Sakura internally groaned as Sasuke elbowed Naruto in the ribs and pointed straight at her. Naruto's face immediately lit up as he spotted the rosette.

"Sakura-chan!" he bellowed loudly.

Like, _really loudly_. So loudly, in fact, that all conversation in the cafeteria stopped. Hundreds of eyes found their way to the blonde, who remained oblivious to all the attention. He bounded across the room and swept Sakura into his arms. The rosette gasped as she found herself crushed against his chest, his vice grip growing stronger each second.

"It's good to see you too- Naruto," she squeaked. The room went back to their chatting.

"Baka," Sasuke muttered as he strolled over to her table. He began tugging Sakura out of his arms. "You're crushing her."

Immediately Naruto released her, causing Sakura to bounce into Sasuke's chest. Sakura timidly glanced up at him to see the same smirk looking back at her. Sakura quickly removed herself from him then quickly glared at the Uzumaki.

Naruto nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe, sorry about that Sakura-chan. I'm just really excited to see you!" he said, shyly making eye contact with her, silently pleading forgiveness.

Sakura's gaze softened. She couldn't resist those puppy dog eyes.

She gave the knucklehead a playful shove. "I'm happy to see you too Naruto-kun." She said. Naruto's eyes turned into hearts at the sound of the added suffix.

Sakura glanced back at her raven-haired friend. "Hi Sasuke." She managed.

Sasuke grunted. "Sakura." He replied shortly. She silently let out a sigh of relief when Sasuke didn't pursue an explanation for her gawking.

It was silent for a moment until she heard a not-so-subtle cough from the table. Sakura turned around to see that they had all been quietly watching the trio. _Especially_ Ino, who wore a devilish grin on her face. Her best friend wiggled her eyebrows and flicked her eyes towards the Uchiha when they made eye contact. Sakura grimaced at the sight of it.

"Who are your _friends_ Forehead? I don't think we've met them before," Pig taunted.

Sakura gritted her teeth as she ignored her. "Guys, this Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. I met them in June," she announced as Naruto gave a small wave. "Boys, these are my friends," Sakura explained, and she began introducing her classmates around the table.

As she ended with Hinata, Naruto's eyes widened. "Hinata? Woah, when did you get here, I didn't even see you!" he exclaimed as he made his way over to the girl. "Scoot over, will ya?" he asked, motioning to her chair.

Hinata's face flushed and she made room for the blonde in her seat. Naruto grinned and wrapped an arm around her as he sat down. The poor girl looked just about to faint.

Neji looked positively furious. "I _knew_ this idiot looked familiar. He went to our middle school, never leaving Hinata alone." He recalled, looking none too pleased by the fact.

"Hell yeah I did you prick! And FYI, Hinata and I were best friends!" Naruto spat at the Hyuga across the table, then gave a cautious look to the Hyuga pressed against him. "Right, Hina-chan?" he asked. The girl quickly nodded her head.

Sakura chuckled and sat back down in her seat and Sasuke silently left to sit next to Choji.

As soon as she touched her chair, Ino furiously whispered, "He's sexy_!"_

Sakura rolled her eyes but didn't miss the quick glare Shikamaru gave Ino before he turned back to his conversation with Choji. Conversation resumed around the table, though she ignored Ino's knowing glances that were occasionally sent her way. Next to the beauty, an annoyed looking Shikamaru was questioning a nervous Akimichi with a hushed voice. She couldn't make out his words, but she noticed he kept motioning towards Choji's lunchbox. Confused, Sakura leaned closer to listen when an energetic voice boomed over the P.A. system in the lunchroom.

"_Goooooood afternoon students! We hope you're all having a _great _first day getting settled into your dorms, meeting hot girls and reuniting with your old boyfriends!_

Sakura frowned. "Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Sasuke merely sighed and Naruto pumped his fist in the air. "Hell. Yeah." He said grinning.

_Students and faculty, please remember to be punctual to the school-wide orientation in the auditorium at 1:30! We'll be telling you everything you need to know about this upcoming school year! _

Shikamaru let out a pitiful groan.

_At this time will all upperclassmen head back to your dorms while you freshmen and sophomores start making your way down to the cafeteria! Ladies and gentlemen, especially you ladies, have a wonderful, _wonderful_ day!"_

"Geez, who is that guy?" Tenten asked in disgust as they all stood up to throw their trash away.

"Probably some old pervert by the sound of him," Sakura grumbled.

"You have no idea," Sasuke muttered under his breath as he walked past her.

"He's not just any old perv Sakura-chan," Naruto sang with his arm still around Hinata. "That's Jiraiya, or as I like to call him, Ero-sennin!" he announced. "He was the principal at our old school," he explained and then paused, as if he had forgotten something.

"Oh yeah, he's my legal guardian too hehe."

_Figures,_ Sakura thought darkly.

SHIKAMARU

Releasing a heavy sigh, Shikamaru dropped himself into a seat in the very back of the auditorium.

Mostly every student from campus had already piled into the large room. There was a low buzz from the gossiping students all talking at the same time. A few dozen teachers and coaches stood at the front of the auditorium No sooner than his butt grazed the cushion did Shikamaru feel himself being hauled up angrily by Ino.

"You lazy bum! We're not going to hear anything Tsunade-sama says if we sit all the way back row! The seniors back here don't give two shits about what's going on. They're gonna talk the whole time!" she complained.

Shikamaru sucked his teeth and allowed Ino to drag him around the auditorium.

_As if I give a damn what's going on here,_ Shikamaru thought. He was too frustrated to argue with the blonde.

A number of things were agitating the Nara.

Shikamaru was tired.

Unfortunate for him, Choji and Ino decided to tag along with him to his dorm. His short nap was ruined by the two bouncing around the walls and by the glares Hyuga was throwing at him every other second. He could damn near _feel_ his eyes burning into him, even when he closed his eyes.

Shikamaru couldn't help but notice Ino's obvious attraction to the Uchiha kid.

What did she see in that prick anyway? So far, the guy hardly spoke, and when he did, it was only to let out a short "Hn" when it was absolutely necessary. He was apparently too cool to talk to lowlifes like his friends. How he became friends with a guy like Naruto he would never understand.

Shikamaru hated to judge Sasuke before he officially met him, but he had to be a huge player too. Hell, just on the way back to the dorms his looks alone drew the eyes of exactly 27 girls and 4 boys. He could practically get anyone he wanted.

Eating only a small salad, Ino was trying to lose weight that she didn't need to lose.

Why the hell was she on a diet? In his eyes, Ino was by far the most beautiful girl in their year, so why would she even consider trying to improve perfection?

And finally, Choji ate _nothing _today at lunch.

For as long as he could remember, his best friend always had an appetite. How many times had he emptied out his dad's wallet at their favorite barbecue joint, Yakiniku? And since he maintained his size his monstrous appetite couldn't have gone away. What stopped him today? He had a little red lunchbox with him so he _did _have something to eat.

Shikamaru sighed as he began to break it down. Shikamaru and Choji were having a great time at lunch until Sakura began teasing Ino about her salad. While everyone was laughing at Hinata and Sakura, Choji was the only one to remain unfazed.

Did Choji have a salad too? Was Choji on a _diet? _

Shikamaru was interrupted from a particularly hard yank from Ino as she led him into a row of seats.

Shikamaru hissed. "You're too rough woman!" And immediately regretted his words as she pulled even harder on his arm.

Trailing behind them, Choji snickered, earning him two glares from his two friends.

_At least Choji's back to normal,_ Shikamaru grumbled. Maybe there was, in fact, nothing going wrong. It was quite possible that he was just overanalyzing the situation, which he had a tendency to do. Perhaps he was overthinking _everything_.

Shikamaru sighed as he rubbed his forehead with his free hand. His day had been rough from the start.

His mother woke him up early this morning to get to school, so he had only gotten 11 hours of sleep that night instead of his standard 13.

His slaver released him as they arrived to her desired seats, which was coincidently right next to her girlfriends. Shikamaru immediately collapsed into the chair under him, earning him a tsk from Ino. He closed his eyes and tried to slow down his mind.

"What took you so long? It's literally going to be 3 in like, 40 seconds!" Tenten demanded as they took their seats.

"'What took us so long'? Dragging Shikamaru's lazy ass all the way here is what took us so long!" Ino complained as she flicked the Nara on his forehead. Shikamaru moaned and shied away from her abuse, keeping his eyes closed. He laid his arms on the armrests at each side and relaxed. He listened to her nagging for a while until her voice began to blend in with the buzzing of the conversations in the auditorium. Their voices gradually became fuzzier as he fell asleep.

..

A large jolt from his chair awoke Shikamaru from his sleep. The auditorium was still buzzing with the sound of students so he had probably just fallen asleep. He glanced behind him to see what awoke him. An unbalanced brunette was gripping his chair from the row behind. The boy was slim and stood a few inches taller than Shikamaru. He had thick, messy brown hair underneath a baggie black hoodie. Foreign purple tattoos decorated his face.

The brunette was glaring at a buff kid a few paces away. This brunette was shorter than him, wearing a crimson tank top, had small, fierce eyes and wore a sneer on his face. Dark red fang tattoos adorned his cheeks. It was obvious that he had shoved the tall kid.

"I swear, if you touch me one more time, I'm going to seriously kick. Your. _Ass_." The tall boy angrily spat.

The buff guy laughed. "You? Kick _my_ ass? Dude I can beat you down any _day_," He retorted. "Just wait till we get back to the dorm, 'cause you're gonna get your ass kicked."

"Oh yeah? Well I'll kick-"

"Both of you shut the hell up!" shouted a blonde making her way over towards the two. A shorter boy with crimson hair was walking behind her looking quite amused. She looked quite annoyed; her tan arms were crossed in front of her chest and her teal eyes furiously flicked back and forth between the boys.

"You're both are just a bunch of pansies. You couldn't even hurt each other even if you tried," she scolded. "Besides, you assholes woke up that guy!" she berated, pointing at Shikamaru. The two seemed to notice him for the first time, flashing him apologetic glances.

"Now sit down, before I kick _both_ of your asses!" she ordered. The two immediately dove for the same seat, which resulted in another squabble.

The blonde gave an exasperated sigh and collapsed in her chair. The redhead chuckled and eased into his own chair at her side. The blonde made eye contact with Shikamaru and opened her mouth to speak, but at the same time the lights in the auditorium dimmed slightly.

Shikamaru faced forward and watched as a blonde woman with a dark green blazer and a _very _large chest confidently walked towards a podium on the side of the stage.

"Good afternoon students," the woman greeted as she adjusted her microphone. The authority in her voice was unmistakable. "My name is Tsunade, your principal for the 2014-2015 school year. At today's orientation, we will be introducing you to your campus, the rules and regulations that will be in place during this year, discussing your schedules, and also information on the clubs and organizations at KPA ."

Ugh. What a drag.

"I would also like to introduce you to your Assistant Principals. First, Orochimaru-sama," she presented as a pale, slender man glided to her side. His calculative gaze flicked from student to student, quietly examining the students. "Who will also serve as the leader over the Science Department," she added.

Tsunade-sama paused, and continued a little distainfully. "And last but not least, Jiraiya-sama-"

"WOOOHOOO! GO SHINOBI! WOOOHOOO!" interrupted a large man with thick, unruly white hair. Jiraiya-sama jogged onto the stage holding up two peace signs in the air. As he came into view, Naruto, several rows in front of them, hopped out of his seat whooping in encouragent.

A quick glower from Tsunade quickly shut the two loudmouths up, and Naruto quickly returned to his seat.

"..And also the Sex Ed. Teacher" she finished lamely.

"But first, let me be the first to officially welcome you Shinobi to Konoha Preparatory Academy!"

An unprepared Shikamaru flinched at the explosion of noise that erupted from the student body. He could see almost the entire freshman class jump from their seats to show their enthusiasm. In the center of the rowdiest underclassmen, an _extremely _zealous blonde, unmistakably Naruto, was whooping exuberantly as he was lifted onto the shoulders of two large students. Tsunade-sama had a look of extreme satisfaction on her face as she silently observed her students.

Shikamaru was dumbfounded. The school spirit in the auditorium was unambiguous. These fools haven't been at this school for more than 10 hours and they were already throwing a party at the sound of their school name. Actually, a party didn't even sound too farfetched anymore since he just saw a girl in the 4th row _literally_ toss a handful of confetti into the air.

Really? Who the hell carries confetti in their pockets?

Judging by the display here, Shikamaru could easily imagine every football game, orchestra concert, and _chess meet_ filled to the brim with students. Tsunade-sama's extremely pleased look was now becoming extremely worried.

Now the entire auditorium was on their feet. Shikamaru glanced around to see that he was quite literally the only one still in his chair, one exception being the Uchiha, who he saw only a flash of before the stomping students got in the way. To his right, Ino and Sakura were screaming at the top of their lungs as Tenten punched her fist in the air. However, Shikamaru was most surprised to see a red-faced Hinata, who he assumed was a nice, quiet girl, on top of an amused Neji's shoulders. The girl was shouting with powerful lungs, her hands high in the air. Behind the Hyugas, the two brunettes had taken this opportunity to start a moshpit. He could vaguely see Red Tats shoving everyone who came into his range.

"What are you doing Shikamaru?" Choji shouted over the roar of the students. He climbed over his chair and into the pit full of upperclassmen. "Just go with the flow man!" he called over his shoulder.

Shikamaru remained in his seat for a few more moments before he casually pulled himself to his feet and was nearly tackled by Ino as she wrapped him in a tight hug. She looked positively delighted when he wrapped an arm around her and began to jump up and down. The blonde screamed louder as they bounced in sync. Much to his displeasure, Shikamaru started grinning.

Curious, he gave off a small shout and surprised himself. He had never heard himself yell.

But of course, as soon as he started to have fun, someone had to ruin it.

The faculty had to shut down the rave when some odd-looking boy with a green spandex jumpsuit tried to climb onto the stage. As Tsunade-sama yelled orders through her mic, the teachers started ushering the students back into their seats. Hundreds of groans and mutters came up from the student body as they gradually untangled themselves from each other and returned to their seats. A pissed off Naruto, drenched in sweat, angrily stomped back to his seat next to the Uchiha.

Ino sighed into his side. "it was just starting to get good too.." she grumbled. Shikamaru could only grunt in agreement. He unwillingly removed himself from the blonde.

Shikamaru frowned to himself. _Unwillingly?_ he thought as he confronted his emotions. When did that come up?

He honestly didn't want to let go of her; it was strangely satisfying to feel her squished against his silently missed the feeling of her arms wrapped around his middle, her face pressed against his torso..

Shikamaru shook his head in disbelief. What was wrong with him?

_Must be the lack of sleep,_ his brain easily answered, and Shikamaru quickly agreed as he settled back into his chair. He shot a quick glance at Ino and was surprised to see a light blush on her cheeks.

_Was it from the screaming,_ he wondered,_ or their hug?_

"All right, settle down, settle down," Tsunade-sama said. "For time and _safety's_ sake," she spat, glaring at the bruised up ravers in the back, "We have to keep going with the orientation as planned. However, I admire all of your school spirit. I am confident this will be an amazing year at KPA." She said proudly.

She then pointed a small remote to the middle of the stage. At the click of a button, a large projector screen began to unroll itself from the screen. A hanging projector turned on from the ceiling, showing the first screen from a Powerpoint Presentation. "Welcome to KPA" it read in WordArt, with a smiling student standing in front of the campus entrance.

A powerpoint? Oh _hell _no.

Shikamaru promptly shut his eyes and began snoring.

(A/N): Again, sorry for the late update again, I will be focusing on uploading a chapter on every Monday or so, at least until school starts. Please R/R and tell me what you think!

And I don't care anymore , I'm going to write Hyuuga. One u just irks me so much for some reason.

(OH MY GOD I ALMOST PRESSED DELETE STORY WHEN UPLOADING THIS OH NO)


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